House Verico- Imperial Knights 40k
by Mattwho81
Summary: The backstory to my custom imperial Knight House. House Verico (Ver-I-co) is a new house forging a new legend in the galaxy.
1. Chapter 1

**House Verico**

'

 **Born in the fires of war and loss House Verico stands new-born and vigorous, though few in number they quest to bring Honour and Glory to their name as fiercely as any other Knights.**

 **History**

The story of House Verico begins at the dawn of M41 when several worlds on the edge of the St Karyl Trail dropped out of contact, such occurrences are not uncommon in the Imperium and little thought was given to what may have happened. It was only after several years that the Adeptus Administratum noticed that these worlds had failed to pay their tithes and sent a scout flotilla to covertly observe the situation. Their findings were shocking; on each world the population had been enslaved to a monstrous Xeno breed and over every world vast hourglass shaped ships hung low, guzzling resources. There did not seem to be any resistance and even Imperial Navy ships hung upon the vessels like vixens protecting their cubs. The affront that a Xeno breed thought it could take Imperial worlds was unacceptable and the Lords Militant immediately dispatched a task force to retake the worlds and claim back the Emperor's territory and resources, the populations of the worlds were also to be rescued if there was time. The expedition was a disaster as soon as the fleet dropped out of warp space they were betrayed, spontaneous mutinies swept every ship, violence and mindless fury engulfed the crews causing them to tear apart their own vessels. Only a handful of ragged survivors returned, saved by the ruthless expedient of venting mutineering decks into hard vacuum, they limped away to carry word back to the Imperium.

'

Shocked by this treachery the Imperium fell back and fortified the Warp Routes that led deeper into Imperial space whilst desperately searching for answers, then the Administratum found a tenuous link that at last identified the vile interlopers. Long ago in the Halcyon days of the Great Crusade the XIIIth Legion had encountered such Xenos before: the Osarian Psybrids. Gaseous beings of immense psychic power that could psychically enslave whole worlds and the very armies sent to fight them. The Psybrids had once wrought terrible grief upon the Imperium until they were defeated by no less a personage than Roboute Guilliman himself and declared extinct, a declaration that now seemed to be premature.

'

The threat of these Xeno's presence and the insult their continued existence gave to the memory of Roboute Guilliman inspired the High Lords to redirect no less than four Space Marine Chapters to the war, the Storm Heralds, the Smoke Jaguars, the Red Templars and the Jade Dragons. Alas the Astartes were delayed by warp storms and before they could reach the sector the Psybrids struck, launching a lighting blitzkrieg deeper into Imperial Space. Planet after planet fell until they stood poised to attack the world of Fodina, a barren mining world but ideally positioned on the warp routes. If Fodina fell the Psybrids could move to cut Imperial supply routes in half but worse could invade the vital Forge World Crux Lapis and in turn the Knight World San Grael. This threat spurred the Adeptus Mechanicus to commit the Legio Astraman, Skitarii regiments, vast hordes of weapon servitors and every Knight that could be found to the battle for Fodina.

'

When the Psybrids struck their force easily shattered the small defence fleet and overwhelmed the paltry orbital defences opposing them, landing vast numbers of troops unopposed. Their forces were comprised of multitudes of enthralled slaves, driven mad with blood fury, led by ethereal gaseous beings. Towering over them all was a gigantic slug like Gestalt creature rivalling the size of a Battle Titan, carrying endless waves of heaving bulk and lashing tentacles it directed the masses with ruthless precision. The hordes boiled out of their landing zones and poured toward Fodina's capital city and only settlement of any real size or value but here they at last found true resistance. Ringed around the capital city where miles upon miles of trench works manned by regiments of the Imperial Guard, supported by the servitors, Skittari and esoteric weapons of the Mechanicum. Here and there flashed discharges of Warp energy, the tell-tale sign of sanctioned psykers fighting to hold back the enslaving sorcery of the Psybrids.

'

The two foes met in a clash of blood and fire, the mindless slaves driven into the teeth of las-fire and artillery but for every one slain ten more would surge forward to take his place. The Imperials held firm, tanks and heavy weapons carving great furrows through the sea of bodies but the endless masses showed fewer signs of self-preservation than a horde of Orks. Metre by metre they ground forward until they reached the trenches then poured over throwing themselves into feral hand to hand combat. Soon the trenches rang to the sound of combat, the rage of soldiers and bellows of commissars meeting the sibilant hisses and gasps that were all the slaves could make but all the more terrifying for it. The Mechanicus forces met the horde with bolter fire and electro whips punctuated with binary chants but mathematics of war were undeniable and for all their might they could not match the sheer numbers arrayed before them. Then the Psybrids themselves came, hissing, wispy creatures gliding through the combatants as easily as smoke, their targets were the sanctioned psykers of the imperials seeking them relentlessly as bloodhounds to the prey. Guards and psychic wards proved useless against them and anybody they touched fell down as if the life had been drained from them. One by one the Psykers fell and as each died gaps appeared in the mental shields over the army, whole regiments suddenly dropped their weapons and stood slack jawed as their minds were enslaved, then they turned and threw themselves at their comrades. Only around the hardened formations of gun servitors and skittari was the resistance able to hold firm, their hollowed out minds useless to the Psybrids. But they were as islands in a sea of foes, each cut off and isolated from any support or aid.

'

The battle hung on a knife's edge but then from the edge of the city came the Titans of the Legio Astraman, horns blaring in challenge as they marched into battle. Among their number were ancient and lauded names such as ' _Magna Caedes', 'Deus Invicta', 'Omnium Dominatur'_ and the twin Warlords _'Dies Judicium'_ and _'Dies Vindicta'._ Massive missile barrages tore into the horde levelling great swathes of enemies while brilliant bolts of plasma incinerated all they touched. The Titans pushed deep into the horde their mega –bolters tearing apart the mindless slaves and even the Psybrids could not resist the searing touch of turbolaser fire. The foe had nothing to match the sheer power of the Titans, small arms fire pattered uselessly off their void shields and contemptuously the Titans stepped over their heads pressing ever deeper into the horde. Fire and woe did they unleash with the merest gesture and with the jubilant cries of the Imperials ringing across the line they sought to engage the Gestalt beast at the heart of the invasion.

'

For a moment it seemed the Titans would turn the tide but the Psybrids had spent thousands of years preparing to meet the imperials in battle and had developed new and deadlier ways of war. The towering Gestalt creature roared and convulsed, unleashing concussive waves of psychic power and crackling hoarfrost blew out into the desert air. With a searing crescendo of force reality split as jagged warp portals tore open and from them poured a tidal wave of slaves and thralls, their sheer numbers dwarfing the paltry mob already committed. Each portal led to an enthralled world and waiting to come through them were billions upon billions of slaves, the imperium no longer faced an army they faced the entire population of a half dozen worlds!

'

Endless waves of mad slaves poured through the portals onto the plains swarming over the feet and up the legs of the Titans. The earth quaked and shivered as the Titans stamped and kicked out, crushing scores with every step, but it mattered not for they were as drowning men fighting the incoming tide. In desperation they unleashed mega-bolter fire and Hellstorm blasts at their own feet but they simply could not cover every angle of approach. The hordes never ceased clambering up their legs, tearing at hatches and throwing themselves into gears and under pistons. It was the Reaver ' _Deus Invicta'_ who fell first, a single hatch giving way to allow the feral masses to tear inside and rip the crew limb from limb. The Warhound ' _Magna Caedes_ ' strode full speed through the multitudes, desperately jinking and changing course, trying to shake bodies from its limbs as a dog trying to shake off fleas. ' _Omnium Dominatur'_ was rocked as mindless slaves tore into its plasma blastgun, a single chink in its coolant pipes unleashing the power of a caged star. The resultant explosion atomised everybody within a 500 metre radius but also liquefied the entire upper half of the Titan leaving its legs standing as a bizarre statue in an ocean of enemies. Slowly step by step the Titans were forced into full retreat, weapons blazing constantly as they were inexorably pushed back.

'

The heaving throngs hissed in triumph and swept forwards to overrun the Imperials, endless waves overwhelming the trenches and pressing right up to the walls of the City, but in doing so they left behind the Gestalt creature leaving it exposed. Suddenly a series of blasting charges went off in the middle of the battleground, blowing away the packed earth to reveal hidden bunkers cunningly buried and concealed, a hidden reserve held back for the direst of emergencies. Bulky blast doors swung apart and from the darkness within charged forth the proud Knights of San Grael, flying many house pennants and some bearing the colours of Freeblades. Their hulls glittered with psychic wards and silver pentagrams to hold back the enslaving power of the Psybrids and whereas the Titans were individual giants the knights moved with harmony and grace. At their head was the Freeblade Lancer ' _Heaven's Dart'_ piloted by no other than Darreal, the living legend who held the line against Waaagh Redfang. Famed for killing the Chaos Titan ' _Eternal Despair'_ and leading the charge at the battle of Black Gulch, the only man who lived to tell the tale. Following him came forth Lancers and Acherons, Paladins, Wardens, Gallants and Crusaders, engine after engine strode forth until fully three score Knights engaged the foe.

'

Darreal called out to his comrades, " _All knights to Flying Wedge formation, Castigators and Wardens to the fore! Blitz attack, clear a path for our big guns!_ " with speed and ferocity the Knights scythed deeply into the packed masses annihilating anything that stood between them and the gestalt. The packs of slaves turned and raced to engage them, seeking to overwhelm them but the knights fought with peerless coordination, working as one to cover the angles. Where individuals broke through and clambered up the hulls of the knights they were met with stubber fire, their brothers sweeping each other's backs clear of danger. In moments the knights approached the gestalt foe and Darreal called new orders, " _Break formation and form a perimeter_ , _Crusaders and Acherons evenly spread. Hold the line and do not yield, were counting on you to buy us the time!"_ With perfect skill the knights split apart, their battlecannons and flamers keeping the hoards at bay. As one the heaving masses turned and attacked but they were met with bolt fire, incendiaries, barrages of missiles and the tide was held, the Knights couldn't possibly keep up this sustained barrage for more than a few minutes but a few minutes was all they needed. Darreal cried, " _All Freeblades form up on me, for Glory and Honour attack, attack, attack!"_

'

Breaking off from the perimeter a half-dozen Freeblade knights raced to engage the Gestalt and leading them was ' _Heaven's Dart'._ It was the Paladin ' _Vigorous Retort'_ who had the honour of drawing first blood, its battlecannon shells exploding against the face of the Gestalt as it flinched back in pain. Not to be outdone ' _Heaven's Dart'_ raced in, expertly evading the forest of tentacles to plunge its shock lance deep into the enemies' hide, using its superior speed to withdraw before it could be ensnared. Like the wolf pack circling the bear the Freeblades swooped around the Gestalt, hitting it hard and evading, never still for a moment. The Knight Errant ' _Cleansing Flame_ ' used its Thermal lance to sheer away tentacle after tentacle, clearing shots so the Magera ' _Black Judge'_ could lash the beast's hide with arcs of lightning. The Paladins ' _Thunderous Rebuke'_ and ' _Vigorous Retort'_ coordinated their firepower, keeping up a continuous barrage at the monster's face to distract and confuse the foe. The Gallant ' _Unending Zeal'_ and _'Heavens Dart'_ swept in and out together, hitting hard and withdrawing constantly, tearing great gouges into the Gestalt. The beast roared in fury as the Knights took it apart piece by piece but the Xeno was not done yet.

'

With startling speed the beast swept its tentacles across the ground ensnaring ' _Unending Zeal'_ against its foul hide, the Gallant fought on spearing its chainblade and Thunderstrike gauntlet deep into the mountain of flesh pulling it apart to reveal foul black organs. The Gestalt howled in agony but then rolled its vast bulk over crushing ' _Undending Zeal_ ' into the ground and giving lie to its name as it was shattered into a millions bent pieces. As the knights reeled from their loss the beast lashed a dozen tentacles up high into the air and plunged them down as one into the canopy of ' _Black Judge'._ Human engineering met Xeno abomination and almost proved its equal, almost, for a single tentacle penetrated through the canopy and stabbed through the chest of its pilot. With a cry of vengeance on their lips the Knights urged forward once more, determined to kill the vile beast, explosions tore at its hide and chainblades hacked and slashed but the Xeno only shuddered and heaved, opening its maw to vomit forth a torrent of acidic bile. The Paladin _'Vigorous Retort'_ was caught full on in the sickening tide and the pilot's screams tore through the vox as the acid ate its way through the hull into the cockpit, it was almost a relief when the vox finally fell silent.

'

With a bellow of rage ' _Heaven's Dart'_ charged forward determined to avenge the loss of so lauded a Knight but the beast scissored its tentacles low and neatly cut off the Lancer's right leg leaving it to fall pathetically face first into the dirt. With the loss of their leader the knights broke formation, losing cohesion and becoming vulnerable to its revenge. The vile beast lurched forward and brought its jaws down on the hull of ' _Cleansing Flame'_ , the Errant buckled at the knees but held firm. It juddered and shook as it fought free and staggered back, but in doing so it left dozens of armour plates in the Xeno's fangs shattering its psychic wards. With a hiss of hatred the beast directed a surge of psychic power at the Knight and the mighty engine fell still and silent as its pilot's brain was burned out and left the noble within little more than a vegetable.

'

All around the battle the torrent of slaves kept pouring out of the warp portals, the Knight's perimeter was being forced back step by step and the ammunition of those holding back the tide was finally running dry, the knights reduced to stubber fire and stamping their feet to buy more time. The Freeblades were falling one by one and all seemed lost but even then they fought on, sworn to their task, victory or death there were no other options. The Paladin ' _Thunderous Rebuke'_ was snared by forest of tentacles, plasteel and Adamantium creaked and groaned as the beast sought to tear the noble engine in two, but at the last second the beast howled and reared back. Revealed back along its side was ' _Heavens Dart_ ', lying prone in the dirt but levering itself up on its Ion shield, from here it could see the great gash left by ' _Unending Zeal'_ and had lunged its shock lance deep within. The beast contorted and writhed as it sought to tear free but ' _Heaven's Dart'_ held firm and fired a salvo of plasma blasts from its lance straight into the Xeno's black insides. With a scream of horror the beast burned from the inside out and fell dead into the dirt and with an explosion of prismatic light the warp portals slammed shut ending the tide of slaves.

'

With the loss of the Gestalt the Psybrids knew they were defeated, seeing the resurgent Imperials following the Titans back into battle the Xenos fell back to their ships, abandoning their slaves to Imperial vengeance. They retreated back to the void and immediately sailed to the worlds they had already conquered, fortifying them with haste. With such losses the Imperials were in no position to dispute the situation, their tattered and bloody armies were but a fraction of the might they would need to fight another war. Attempts were made in the Senatorum Imperalis to proclaim a crusade of Exterminatus against the worlds taken by the Psybrids but before anything could come of this the Imperium was swept up in the Macharian Heresy. Vast manpower was diverted away to deal with this crisis and so the Psybrids were left to fester in their isolation, in time becoming just another forgotten detail in the archives of Terra.

'

For those left behind there was only the sad tasks of counting the dead and the painful process of rebuilding, but even then the valour and loss of the fighters had to be recognised. The Freeblades of the imperium had sacrificed much, and risked all, in a unique act the High Lords and the Fabricator-generals jointly declared that to honour the saviours of Fodina a new Knight House would be founded. This house would join the ranks of the six extant houses of San Grael and would be formed from the Freeblades themselves led by the heroic Patriarch Darreal pilot of ' _Heaven's Dart'._ All previous debts were declared settled, any ties to other houses were severed and the surviving Freeblades were recognised as a House in their own led his new scions to San Grael and raised his flag in the ruined keep of one of the Houses lost to antiquity, overseeing the building of a new fortress and declared it fit as the home of "House Verico". Taking noble wives and raising families the scions vowed though small and new-born as they were they would never falter in their duties and would win glory and honour for their name.

'

The Freeblades at last had a new home.

 **'**

 **Homeworld **

San Grael orbits its star on the very edge of the habitable zone and as a result is a frigid world of barren glaciers and frozen tundra home to deadly predators, giant beasts and packs of ravenous monsters. However human life is possible due to the presence of three moons whose conflicting gravitational pull triggers geological activity. This rampant volcanism results in vast mountain ranges rising from the glaciers and these ranges harbour extensive rift valleys. Heated by underground magma these rift-valleys are home to tropical micro-climates and are abundantly rich in fertile soil and mineral wealth dragged from the planet's core. San Grael seemed an ideal world to the first colonists but it soon became apparent that they had underestimated both the savage nature of the landscape as well as the sheer aggressiveness of the beasts that regularly descend into the rift-valleys to feast. Beset on all sides by burning volcanic eruptions, freezing blizzards and the predations of savage Ursals, massive Gyrfalcons, swift Pardus's and cunning Jotun throngs the colonists beseeched their STC machines for aid and thus wrought their first Knight armours. The deep-core drilling stations that harvested the planet's wealth and kept the surging volcanoes in check proved ideal to serve as keeps and soon the colonists had many proud Knight Houses to stand to their defence.

'

When the Age of Strife descended San Grael was wrapped in warp-storms and cut off entirely from the galaxy, the only order able to survive this calamity was the Knight Houses and they soon established themselves as feudal overlords. Under the aegis of the Knight Houses the colonists endured all that their world had to throw at them and they survived the horrors of the Age of Strife in bitter isolation. Unlike most Knight Worlds no single House rose to dominate San Grael, the icy wastelands between pockets of civilisation serving to isolate the Houses, the few conflicts of the age being limited to dynastic struggles over the seat of the High King. Nonetheless millennia of neglect and endless attacks from mega-predators saw many houses fall into oblivion and the few survivors grew smaller and weaker until it seemed inevitable they too would fall.

'

Located well off the trade routes of Segmentum Tempestus San Grael was bypassed by the Great Crusade and was not discovered until the Nova Terra Interregnum when the pilgrimages of Saint Karyl led the faithful away from the bitter infighting seeking new worlds to colonise. By this time the Knight Houses had dwindled to mere remnants of their former majesty and the handful of surviving Houses could only muster a few lurching, smoking antiques. Offered access to new technologies, trade and most importantly new Knight Engines the Houses eagerly embraced an alliance with the Tech-Priests and became a Mechanicus aligned world, its priests becoming Sacristans and its ruling high king bending the knee to Mars. However they remain a proud and aloof people and have refused total subservience, operating under the Sidon Protocols as allies rather than vassals.

'

San Grael is a sparsely populated world, its inhabitants confined to isolated rift valleys that have been farmed since long before the coming of the Imperium. The common folk live simple agrarian lives working the terraced gardens carved into the valleys, eschewing most technologies beyond those needed for survival and traversing the wastelands between the isolated pockets of civilisation. Above them is a caste of minor feudal nobles whose lives are dominated by ancient traditions and courtly ritual, which is mostly a façade to hide the fact that they spend their days intriguing against one another. The slightest breach of etiquette is seized as a cause for conflict but such clashes are highly ritualized, more resembling tourney melees than genuine battle and have become festival days for the common folk. The victors of such tourneys usually win rights to strategic passes or valuable outposts but above all are seen as way to demonstrate their worth to one of Knight Houses. Each noble family owes fealty to one of the seven Knight Houses of San Grael and it is the burning ambition of every family for one their children to marry into the blood of a Knight House. While the Knights rule as distant, uninterested lords over their domains they still keep to their ancient oaths to protect the people from the predations of the ravenous monsters that roam the wastes and the fealty and respect they receive from the populace is absolute.

'

The one feature that sets San Grael out from other Knight worlds is that their Sacristans do not owe fealty to individual houses, instead forming a monolithic and wide spread priest caste. This is because their duties extend to operating and maintaining the ancient magma regulators, mineral extractors and heat-distribution technologies left from the earliest days of colonisation. This is an essential task as not only does the wealth of the world rest on their output but they also keep the rampant volcanoes in check and distribute their heat across the rift-valleys. Should these ancient devices fail the world would be swept by surging lava or freeze to death as the ice reclaimed all. It is the Sacristans' duty to keep this from happening and while the Knights hold absolute authority over all matters temporal no noble would think of interfering with their sacred mysteries.

'

+++Crux Lapis+++

 _Crux Lapis is a Mechanicus outpost located several light years from San Grael and it is the only fully-fledged Forge World in the sector. It was founded originally as a mining outpost but when the nearby Knight world was discovered the Fabricator-General declared that the outpost would be expanded to true Forge World status so as to best exploit their wealth. Despite being designated a tertiary minoris Forge by the standards of Mars, Crux Lapis remains the sole source of the rarest and most exotic technologies in local space._

 _'_

 _This Forgeworld is geologically unique for it is a single vacuum formed geode the size of a small moon, with an impure adamantium crust several miles thick and an interior filled with the rarest forms of crystal. These crystals have proved unrivalled for the production of potent laser weaponry, plasma distribution systems and the most advanced logic engines and cogitators. The exterior surface of Crux Lapis is covered in defence emplacements and starship dockyards but it is on the inner surface that the Mechanicus have built their Forges. Ancient gravitic generators and atmosphere processors make the interior liveable (by Martian standards) and were it not for the horizon soaring away overhead it would be easy to mistake it for the surface of any other world. Here vast foundries create the secret wonders known only to the Tech-Priests and they maintain vast nutrient pools to encourage the growth of the precious crystals Crux Lapis is famed for._

 _'_

 _To protect the Forge World the Mars has assigned a demi-legion garrison of Titans from the Legio Astraman, nominally 26 engines of which 22 are currently functional. This garrison has stood for thousands of years and was commonly viewed as an inglorious posting; however since their home Forgeworld Graia was devastated by Waaagh Grimskull they have lost all contact with their brethren and become a separate Legio in all but name._

 _'_

 _To Mars the Legio Astraman is sufficient to protect such a remote outpost, however the demands on the Titan Legions are endless and their strength is always in dire need to turn the tide of the Imperium's most desperate wars. At no point can the Imperium afford to have more than a third of this force in garrison at Crux Lapis and even those spend most of their time in refit. To make up this shortfall the Tech-priests have called upon their allies in the Knight Houses of San Grael and each House is honour bound to send one-tenth of their strength to stand vigil over the Forge World. In addition to this the Houses routinely send their scions out to fight alongside the Titans in battle, supporting their charges and guarding their flanks. The Knights see this as a unique opportunity for glory and to earn respect from their mighty cousins in the Legions, little realising that the haughty Princeps look down upon all lesser pretenders and treat them with at best amusement and at worst scorn for their efforts. A fact the executors and familiars of the Legio work ceaselessly to keep concealed._

 **'**

 **Organisation**

Over the last thousand years House Verico has slowly and painstakingly built up its strength and now can field thirteen knight engines, this is barely half that of its nearest rival house. The Mechanicus awards Knight Engines based on feats of valour and service yet House Verico has too few Knights to risk in wild grabs for glory while battlefield losses take decades to replace. With so few warriors available the House has had to content itself with serving as support to more feted Houses or as skirmishers for the Legio Astraman.

'

To cope with their limited numbers the House demands maximum flexibility from each Knight engine and endeavour to make sure every scion has the tools to meet any situation. For these reasons the Gallant and Crusader patterns have never found much esteem with the House Patriarch's whereas the Paladin, Errant and Warden Patterns are heavily favoured. The house has but a single Cerastus-Lancer, the original suit from the Houses's founding and now the oldest model in service, reserved for the Patriarch himself when he chooses to ride to war.

'

House Verico owes fealty to House Pardus, its ruler also the current High King of San Grael and the Mechanicus spokesman to all the Knight Houses and vassals of the world. It is his judgement that determines how the supply of new Knight armours are distributed to the various houses and he always makes sure his own House takes the lion's share of this bounty. With sixty Knights ready to march at any time Pardus are twice the size of any other house and when the High King calls upon his feudal vassals the combined might of every House swells this to over 200 engines.

 _'_

 _+++Lifeward+++_

 _With so few Knight Engines available and so many younger sons being born competition for Knighthood within House Verico is fierce and ruthless. In the centuries after Verico's formation it was common for blood to be shed and even lives spent in the pursuit of glory. This culminated in the Night of the Long knives when a dozen of the claimants managed to assassinate each other leaving the house temporarily heirless. The house stood in jeopardy of falling and the Patriarch of the house was forced to create a new position in their ranks, that of the Lifeward._

 _Chosen not from the noble scions but instead from a common family of long, loyal service this individual was tasked with vouchsafing the life of the Patriarch's youngest heir on and off the battlefield. To achieve this role the Lifeward was granted a full suite of augmetics and a single Knight engine: the first Knight Warden granted to House Verico. To ensure their loyalty the sons of the Lifeward are held as hostage, their lives forfeit should the Lifeward fail in his duty. To their credit not a single heir has ever fallen and the position itself has now become a hereditary title passed down from father to son for centuries._

 **Combat Doctrine**

In combat House Verico has never favoured the wild charges and vainglorious challenges to single combat that other Houses relish. Instead they focus on dedicated, concentrated fire and mutually supportive units working as pairs, glory being shared amongst the team rather than the individual. This conservatism has led to other Houses seeing Knights of Verico as inglorious, even cowardly, but this is an unfair slander as the scions fight as steadfastly and honourably as any of their rivals. Through centuries of dedicated service the House has meticulously built up its strength and it is only in the last century that they can finally mount independent operations.

 **Battlecry**

For Glory and Honour!


	2. Chapter 2

**First Hunt**

The mountain was a towering old monster soaring away into the sky, its top lost in thick bruised clouds, heavy with latent storms. Its lower reaches were barren and covered with ice but through the whiteness cut a black ribbon of a path winding its way down the sides like a snake. Down and down it winded from the high passes where storms brewed eternally into a sharp, narrow valley where hot air made the horizon shimmer. Down that path two figures slowly made their way through the fogs, ice from the high passes crusted their armour, melting and popping as every step took them down lower into the warmer air of the valley.

'

Any observer standing on that path would have thought at first that they were large men, but as they moved closer through the fog their true size would have been apparent. Towering silhouettes easily the size of a house, each was a giant made of pistons, gears and cogs, bearing weapons three times the height of a man. They were the most ancient of mankind's defenders; Imperial Knights, bearing heraldry of green and grey and carrying the mark of a spear ascending to heaven, the mark of House Verico. The first bore chainsword as large as a tank and its right arm was the thermal Lance of a Knight Errant, across its chest were emblazoned the words 'Heart of Zeal'. The second had a massive fist and a multi-barrelled cannon crowned with a missile pod, the arms of a Knight Warden and it bore the proud title 'Lifeward'. Any observer would have gasped in awe and wonder at such rare magnificence, a sight most men would count themselves lucky to see once in a life time. However should that observer be able to listen in to the conversation voxed between them that wonder would quickly be replaced with disappointment.

'

" _I'm telling you she's ugly_!" called the Knight Errant, it was a young voice with the quiver of youthful brashness that makes older men roll their eyes and grit their teeth.

" _There's more to a marriage than looks boy_ ," called the second knight, this voice older sterner and marked with the weariness of long years guiding arrogant youths away from folly, " _There's compassion, understanding and patience, all of which will last a lot longer than full lips and a firm bosom believe me."_

The youth gave that all the consideration due from a young man filled with hormones "B _ut Hendrick, she's half my age and has a lazy eye and spots too!"_

" _Karvan, Just remember the Bearal family did us great honour, they feasted us and recharged our power cores off their own mansion, you should be proud to be joined to such a generous family"_ said Hendrick.

" _And because of that I should marry her?!"_ snorted Karvan dismissively.

" _No, you should marry her because your grandfather commands it; the Bearals are the strongest noble family in the Denarii mountain ranges and have long been House Verico's most ardent supporters in the region. These valleys are a long, long way from anywhere; we need supporters out here lest they seek favour from some other Knight House."_ Explained Hendrick with exasperation.

" _Damn it you're just a commoner Hendrick, you can never inherit the Household, nobody cares who you marry"_ snorted Karvan.

'

Hendrick ground his teeth and spat, " _Listen boy one day, Emperor forbid, you will be Patriarch of House Verico and on that dark day you will have to make these decisions for your own offspring."_

" _I can't believe I have to listen to a commoner, may I remind you I am third in line in the Patriarchy,_ " whined Karvan, " _Why does my grandfather let you talk to me that way? Why does he let you get away with not calling me My Lord?"_

" _Because I'm the Life Ward_ " spat Hendrick in irritation _"My forbearers have guarded future Patriarchs for generations and it's only because of me your own father is alive today, now it's my job to keep you alive. Your grandfather knows I have better chance of doing that if I can beat some sense into that thick skull of yours."_

" _So when will you start calling me my lord?"_ asked Karvan entirely missing the point.

" _When you've earned it_ " growled Hendrick.

" _That is so…"_ began Karvan

'

" _May I remind you were not just out here to arrange your nuptials_ " Hendrick interrupted him to say, " _Something or someone has razed three villages to the ground and taken every last inhabitant. The Bearals petitioned our aid and we are honour bound to protect them and their vassals."_

" _Oh it's probably just a pack of stupid Ursals slipping by those lazy border guards, no trouble at all."_ Scorned Karvan

" _I'm not so sure"_ muttered Hendrick

" _You think it might be a Pardus?! That would put cousin Peatons' trophy Gyrfalcon to shame! Thirty foot wide he boasts its wings were, well imagine his face if I could take a Pardus head as a trophy_." Exclaimed Karvan excitedly.

" _It might be Jotuns_ " Hendrick replied

'

Karvan fell silent for minute then softly said, " _That's not funny"_

Hendrick ignored him and carried on, " _My father once told me a tale of his youth when a Jotun throng got into the valleys levelling every town they found and devouring every man, woman and child within, every last one. That shows method, that shows planning and intelligence, the Knights sent to confront them were lost in ambushes and avalanches. House Verico had to unite with Houses Jacquar and Gyrfalcon to stop their rampage."_

" _Look I know your just trying to scare me_." Karvan sighed, " _We've all heard the old legends when the Jotuns nearly overran the world but after the coming of the imperium they were practically hunted into extinction. Peaton told me there's barely a handful of runts left in the high passes they wouldn't dare come into human lands again. This will turn out to be boring Ursals after all"_

" _I wouldn't be so sure boy_ " muttered Hendrick.

" _My Lord_!" Cried Karvan " _You're supposed to call me My Lord!"_

" _Shut up."_ Spat Hendrick.

" _How dare_!" yelled Karvan

" _No seriously shut up, can't you detect that?"_ whispered Hendrick.

'

Across the low band vox a weak signal was repeating, no words simply a pattern of dots and dashes, an automated distress call. Without speaking the two knights leapt into a gallop, great strides eating up the distance with a speed that such large machines should never have been able to achieve. They burst out from the fogs and saw a large town spread before them nestled in the green valley surrounded by terrace fields cut into the hillside. Grey stone walls and slate roofs confronted them and the streets were winding and crazed with no order or straight line anywhere.

'

The knights swept through the streets the slate roofs just barely higher than their heads, the obstruction of vision was a minor annoyance but the auspex showed no threats and the signal guided their turns to the heart of the town. The source of the distress signal was coming from the very centre of the settlement and now their audio sensors were picking up distinct crashes and familiar roars that evoked a deep loathing and outrage from their machine spirits. The knights crested a sharp rise and at last had a clear view into the centre of the village, there stood an ancient machine temple, its stonework pitied and worn and with a single spire that bore a decrepit Vox antenna. All over the building swarmed a score of gigantic, hairy apelike brutes, each rivalling the size of the Knights and packed with corded muscle. Their mouths were filled with sharp fangs and their shovel like hands bore filthy black claws but worst of all was the glimmer of crude intelligence shining in their eyes. They were the ancient terror of the people of San Grael and the most despised foe of its Knights: Jotuns.

'

The Jotuns were all over the ancient temple, pulling off roof tiles and reaching their long shaggy arms through the windows. As Karvan watched one of them pulled out a flailing, screaming man and shoved his entire torso into its mouth, his frantic screams were cut off as the Jotun bit down hard. One shaggy grey backed creature suddenly paused and looked around, noticing the Knights for the first time, this must have been the Alpha as it cuffed several of its throng mates and screamed some crude doggerel at them. With a disturbing coordination a dozen of the beasts broke off from assaulting the temple and hurled themselves at the Knights, closing the distance fast. The Jotuns were perilously close to the peasants cowering in the temple, the slightest glance from his thermal lance could incinerate them too but he was willing to risk the shot anyway. Karvan targeted his Thermal Lance at the pack but as he did so the ancient protocols imprinted onto his conscious by the Throne Mechanicum rang out, "Protect, Defend, Avenge" and he hesitated. Hendrick showed his experience by driving Lifeward hard to the left, opening up the angles and as the Jotuns covered the distance in a feral mass he opened up with his Bolt cannon. A hail of bolt shells tore into the pack tearing through thick hides and ripping into flesh, the fusillade would have put down a squad of Astartes but the Jotuns rivalled the Knights themselves for bulk and only one of the beasts went down.

'

The Jotuns slammed into the knights, their servo motors groaning to compensate against the heaving bulky mass of flesh crushing them down. Massive fists briefly pounded against adamantium plates but the Jotuns were not stupid beasts, their thick fingers worked around the armour plates tearing at the linking mechanisms and filthy claw tips worked their ways into pistons and gears fouling their movement. Karvan shook his knight from side to side; working to find room in the heaving mass to swing his reaper chainsword but the Jotuns held on tight and howled their spite into his facemask. He clubbed out with his thermal lance and kicked out with his armoured feet but couldn't find room to fight back, and his engine's knees began to buckle under the strain. A terrible wrenching vibrated through the knight's chassis as one of the armour plates tore away and Karvan felt a rush of rage and shame at the dishonour wrought against Heart of Zeal even as the Jotuns reached in to tear at the exposed joints below.

'

Suddenly a blast of light exploded amongst the throng, bright flames and metal shrapnel shattering around them, the beast's thick hides protected them from the worst of the blow but they fell about dazed and confused for a few seconds. Karvan stood dumbfounded in the centre of the smoke looking around for an explanation of his reprieve, until he saw Hendrick charging past him steam billowing from his ironstorm missile pod. He hurtled by calling out, " _Damn it boy, Knights have legs for a reason. Don't just stand there like a sow for slaughter: RUN!"_

'

Karvan launched himself into a gallop, chasing Hendrick into the twisting paths of the buildings taking turns at random, the slate roofs were barely high enough to conceal the towering knights but they would buy them a few precious seconds to regroup. Karvan glanced at his auspex, this foe had no thermal signature or energy emission to track but the motion sensors showed them splitting up into small groups to prevent any possibility of escape. Karvan gritted his teeth Knights did not survive the battlefields of the 41st millennium by being stupid, they may occasionally fall back but no knight worthy of the name would abandon the battlefield entirely and he swore that the foe would pay for such a mistake. He returned his attention to the path ahead and saw that in the few seconds of distraction Hendrick had pulled well ahead, he must have sensed Karvan falling behind as he called, " _Divert power from your Ion shield, it's useless in this kind of fight, speed will serve you better this day."_

'

Karvan was stunned by the idea, all his training demanded a Knight keep his shield up at all times, but this was no time to be debating doctrine and he quickly made the adjustments feeling the power surge through his motive systems. The auspex showed the Jotuns charging through the surrounding streets, Hendrick called " _We don't have a chance if we let them come at us in strength, split up and pick them off one by one, hit and run don't get bogged down"._

'

At the next junction they spilt up, heading down opposing streets, the Knight's heavy footfalls shaking tiles from the building and their pauldrons carving deep furrows in the walls where their bulk was too wide to pass down narrow streets. Karvan made blind turns, heading parallel to the roars and snarls chasing them through the twilight gloom. He made a sharp turn to his right and was suddenly confronted with a shaggy brute charging right at him, its blackened claws already rising to attack. The street was too narrow for evasion and there was but a moment for him to bring his reaper chainsword up as the two crashed together. His knight rang like a bell at the impact but his roaring chainsword plunged straight into the beast's chest and tore out of its back in a spray of blood and gore. Karvan stood still in shock for a second, then the life fled the Jotun's eyes and it slid off his sword and crashed to the ground.

'

Karvan felt a surge of elation and exulted, _"I got one!"_

" _Great",_ called Hendrick over the Vox, " _Now just do it twenty more times and were golden"_

'

Remembering the fight was far from over Karvan stepped over his foe's corpse and began running once more. He made two more random turns and was about to make a third when his auspex screamed in warning, he barely had a second to bring his weapons up to ready before two shaggy monsters barrelled round the corner. He met the first one with a blast from his thermal lance, the melta weapon liquefied flesh in a heartbeat and carried on into the building behind, all that remained was a steaming pile of gore before a bubbling mass of liquid stone. The second Jotun was a more cunning beast, waiting for its pack mate to distract the Knight then sweeping in, it scythed its claws across the Knight's face plate and in doing so ruptured optic lines and shattered lenses. Karvan gasped in sympathetic agony as he felt the machine's pain through his neural link and static filled one half of his awareness, the auto senses attempt to compensate but the image was washed out and jumped intermittently. The beast tried to take advantage of his moment's weakness, slicing in for a disembowelling stroke but Karvan mastered his pain and met it with wide sweeps of his chainsword. His first blow tore off its arm and the next caved half way through its chest and it slumped with barely a whisper to the dirt.

'

Karvan stepped back assessing his kills, he wondered for a second if he should mark the location so he could return later and take a head as a trophy. A sudden crash and roar from uncomfortably close by shook him out of his complacency; this was no time for glory seeking. He pressed on but slower than before, his loss of visual sense made his walking erratic and his pauldrons constantly smashing into eaves and knocking stones free from walls. His auspex was washed with static but he saw a ghost of return, he paused for a moment to adjust the feed and this hesitation saved his life. From a blind alley jumped a monstrous Jotun, far larger than the previous ones and it pounced on the spot he would have been had he taken one more step. He brought up his thermal lance but the brute moved far quicker than anything that size had a right to and bounded forwards, too close for Karvan to fire lest he be caught in his own blast zone. The beast grappled at his armour, pulling Heart of Zeal chest to chest so the chainsword couldn't be brought to bear then it began slamming a clenched fist into the abdominal plating over and over. Karvan was shook about in the cockpit his body pulling hard against his implant ports with every blow; he tried to bring his Knight's knee up but was blocked by a bony elbow. In desperation he swung his stubber up and unleashed it into the monsters face, it screamed in fury and staggered back hands flying up to its face. Karvan took a single step back and swung his Knight's upper body hard to the left, in a move no organic soldier could replicate he swung the knight 360 degrees on its own waist bringing the reaper chainsword around and sawing the monster in half with one blow. The creature fell down in two halves the arms trashing about for long moments before it registered it was truly dead.

'

Karvan stood there for a few seconds the exertion making him heave and gasp for air but could not linger and pushed on, turn after turn came and went the beasts howls echoing from the blind alleys. Once as he ran he saw Hendrick beating a Jotun to death with his Thunderstike gauntlet but he was past the scene in moment. Finally Karvan made a turn that led into a wide plaza and was shocked to see the machine temple before him once more. Somehow in the confusion he had managed to end up right back where he had started. The temple's walls had caved in and a trio of Jotuns were sifting through the wreckage pulling bodies out, some still twitching, and shovelling them down their wide maws. A sudden rage filled Karvan and he took a step forward in challenge, he had barely a few seconds to grasp his mistake before another throng, led by the old Greyback itself, charged out of the alleyways behind and fell upon him, he had blundered into a crude trap!

'

The throng fell upon him tearing and clawing at his exposed back as the others raced to join the carnage, the fiends easily shredded through the lighter armour on his rear and cut deep into the mechanisms within. Karvan screamed in agony as plates tore free and fluid lines were ruptured, the power core began haemorrhaging energy and he felt Heart of Zeal's pain burning through his nerves as the Knight fell to one knee. He tried to fight them off but their feral mass covered Heart of Zeal and there was no room to swing his chainsword, the old Greyback snarled out a crude command and one of the Jotun's grabbed his Thermal lance and rammed it into the ground pinning his frame still. Heart of Zeal shook and shuddered under the blows rained upon it and one beast began to prise its razor claws into the seals around the cockpit hatch. Karvan knew this fight was already lost and he had seconds to live, almost all options were exhausted, all but one desperate chance.

'

Karvan gnashed his teeth and fired his thermal lance into the ground at point blank range.

'

A massive blast of heat and radiation exploded outwards and upwards, a backwash of energy that rivalled the impact of Titan grade weaponry. The Jotun holding the Lance down simply ceased to exist, its atoms vaporised into flaming dust, those nearby faring little better their flesh running and melting like wax. Only those Jotuns at the back of the throng evaded instant death but that was small consolation as their shaggy skin caught fire burning them head to toe. The old greyback opened its mouth to scream one final roar of hatred but flame rushed down its gullet and burned it from the inside out. Karvan however noted none of that, consumed in agony as Heart of Zeal suffered in its own killing fire. The feedback of energy exploded the Thermal lance, blowing it clean off leaving only a jagged stump, solid armour bubbled and adamantium rods were welded together as the Knight endured the core of the inferno. Control wires fused and energy conduits blew out and in a final indignity the face plate was melted down becoming nothing more than a fused lump of scorched metal. Then it was over.

'

Karvan reeled in agony, the smoke filled cockpit sparking and searing hot to breathe, gasping for air he reached up with his hands and flailed at the canopy release. The hot metal scalded his hands through his gloves but he managed to grasp the handle and twist it hard enough to pop. The air outside was blisteringly hot but it brought blessed relief from the smoke and allowed Karvan to see out with his own eyes.

'

The smoke cleared and revealed the massive form of Lifeward standing amidst the glassy craters and burnt bodies of Jotuns.

His vox crackled but Karvan couldn't make out any words among the broken snarls and crackles of his unit, then the external horns blared, " _That was either the bravest or stupidest thing I've ever seen."_ Boomed Hendrick.

Karvan had to shout to make himself heard " _I didn't see you in a position to help"_

" _I was busy taking care of the rest_ " Hendrick retorted, " _Two knights against a whole throng of Jotuns; it's a feat that hasn't been seen in a thousand years."_

Karvan coughed among the acrid smoke then yelled, " _Doesn't feel as glorious as the minstrels said it would be."_

Hendrick snorted, " _Rarely is."_

'

Karvan looked about from his cockpit, survivors were emerging from the ruins of the machine temple seeming shocked and dazed at events, there were so few of them it shamed the young Knight. They were his family's charges and despite all he had done he felt he had failed them, he instantly decided not to stay and demand the shows of gratitude that was his feudal right. He would speak to his father and implore they send out a relief party when he returned home, which reminded him, " _Give me a minute, I'll try to get up."_

'

Karvan focussed on his knight condition, the machine spirit was writhing in pain, he concentrated on soothing its anguish, rerouting energy and isolating damaged circuits. In a few minutes he was able to divert a trickle of power to his motive system and Heart of Zeal groaned as it forced itself to its feet. He took an experimental step, the right knee was a fused mass of molten metal and he was seriously unbalanced with the loss of the thermal lance, the knight swayed violently as it limped but he could just about move. He called " _It's slow but I can walk_."

'

Hendrick replied " _Its long way home, can you make it back over the pass to the Bearal's mansion? We can call Sacristans to meet us there."_

" _Do we have any other options?"_ asked Karvan bleakly.

" _Well… No"_ said Hendrick.

" _Well I guess I'll have to make it then, let move."_ Called Karvan gritting his teeth and setting forth.

Hendrick followed saying only, " _Let's get you home. M'lord"_


End file.
